Nintendo 3DS
The Nintendo 3DS is a portable video game system that can produce 3D visuals without the need for special 3D glasses through a process known as autostereoscopy. The Nintendo 3DS was announced on March 23, 2010 but was officially unveiled at that year's Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) on June 15 with the company inviting attendees to play with the handheld. It was released February 25, 2011 in Japan, March 25, 2011 in Europe, March 27, 2011 in North America, and March 31, 2011 in Australia. Technical specifications * Information: USD$249.99 JP¥25,000 GBP£/EUR€ - Set by individual retailers AU$349.95 * Weight: 230 grams (8.1 oz) * Display: 3.53 in (90 mm), 800 x 240 px (effectively 400 x 240 WQVGA per eye) at 24 bit color 3.02 in (77 mm), 320 x 240 QVGA at 24 bit color 6 brightness levels (2D), 3 brightness levels (3D) * Battery: 3-5 hours for 3DS games and 5-8 hours for DS games, depending on screen brightness (1300 mAh) * Camera: One front-facing 2D and two rear-facing 3D 0.3 MP (VGA) sensor * Physical Controls: Push-buttons, D-pad, analog stick, touchscreen, volume slider, 3D depth slider, wireless communications switch * Connectivity: Integrated 802.11b/g, 3-axis accelerometer, 3-axis gyroscope, microphone * Slots: 3DS Game Card DS Game Card SD card * Storage: Internal storage TBA, expandable via SD card slot (2 GB card included) * Memory: 128 MB FCRAM * Processor: Nintendo ARM * Graphics: PICA200 by Digital Media Professionals * Dimensions: 134 mm (5.3 in) wide × 74 mm (2.9 in) deep × 21 mm (0.83 in) high * Stylus: Extendable up to about 4 inches (100 mm) * Region Locking: Regional lockout for 3DS software between Japan, America and Europe/Australia Features The Nintendo 3DS has many newly added features that seperates it from the Nintendo DS and Nintendo DSi. AR Games Several augmented reality games are on the 3DS with six paper cards to react with. These games are called "AR Games." Backward compability The Nintendo 3DS can play Nintendo DS games and Nintendo DSiWare games in addition to its 3DS Shop games and regular 3DS games. The Nintendo 3DS cannot play Game Boy Advance games however, because, like the Nintendo DSi, it has no Game Boy Advance cartridge slot. Nintendo eShop The Nintendo 3DS, like the Nintendo DSi and DSi XL, has a shop of its own. The shop sells DSiWare, which are only available to DSi, DSi XL, and 3DS owners. Nintendo 3DS Downloads are exclusive 3DS games and applications. The shop has its own Virtual Console with Game Boy, Game Boy Color, Game Gear, TurboGrafx-16, and NES games. Classic arcade, NES, and SNES games are remastered with 3D availability under the 3D Classics brand. Nintendo 3DS ambassadors can get 10 free NES games before they're made for the public for purchase and will get 10 free ambassador-exclusive Game Boy Advance games. Nintendo 3DS Prepaid cards can be purchased, which have real dollar values rather than the points system used in previous systems. Because of this, the eShop won't support any Nintendo Points cards. The eShop was available in a system update on June 6, 2011 and June 7, 2011. Activity Log The Activity Log is an application that tracks both game play, noting which games have been played and for how long, as well as physical activity, counting every step taken while carrying a 3DS. The feature encourages walking more every day to earn Play Coins, which can be used with compatible games and applications to acquire special content and a variety of other benefits Mii Maker The Nintendo 3DS also features Miis. The 3DS has the Mii Maker and StreetPass Mii Plaza. The Mii Maker can create Miis from a photo of the person, as well as creating them from scratch. The StreetPass Mii Plaza is where the Nintendo 3DS's user can see Miis collected from StreetPass. Nintendo 3DS Video Nintendo Video is an application for the Nintendo 3DS that can download short 3D videos. It was released on July 13, 2011 for Europe and Australia, and on July 21, 2011 for North America. It can be purchased for free on the Nintendo eShop. Video List North America Swapnote Swapnote (known as Nintendo Letter Box in PAL regions) is a free messaging application available through the Nintendo eShop. The application replaces PictoChat and offers many improvements over its predecessor. It allows messages to be sent and received through SpotPass or StreetPass, freely embed pictures and sounds into messages, and configuration of the position and orientation of the picture and sound icons. It was released in all the major regions on December 22, 2011. Ambassador Program The Nintendo 3DS Ambassador Program is a special program made by Nintendo for the Nintendo 3DS. It was targeted to people who bought the Nintendo 3DS before the price drop. Users receive free NES and Game Boy Advance Virtual Console games through the program that are not planned to be released to the general public. To become a "Nintendo 3DS Ambassador", the user had to log into the Nintendo eShop on or before August 11, 2011. The NES games were released August 29, 2011 in Japan, August 31, 2011 in North America and September 1, 2011 in Europe and Australia. It is unknown when the Game Boy Advance games will be released. A free "Ambassador Certificate" was released along with the NES games, which was a video that asked the user of the 3DS if they would like to receive notifications about the program. Ambassador-exclusive Games NES * Super Mario Bros. * The Legend of Zelda * Zelda II: The Adventure of Link * Donkey Kong Jr. * Wrecking Crew * Balloon Fight * Metroid * Ice Climber * Yoshi * NES Open Tournament Golf Game Boy Advance * Yoshi's Island: Super Mario Advance 3 * Mario Kart: Super Circuit * WarioWare, Inc.: Mega Microgame$ * Mario vs. Donkey Kong * Metroid Fusion Gallery NintendoPoints1000.jpg|Nintendo Points (1000) Nintendopoints3000.jpg|Nintendo Points (3000) Nintendopointscards.jpg|Former Japanese design of Nintendo Points with 5000 point card. NintendoPointsJP1000.gif|Current design of Nintendo Points (1000) in Japan. NintendoPoints2000JP.gif|Current design of Nintendo Points (2000) in Japan. NintendoPoints3000JP.gif|Current design of Nintendo Points (3000) in Japan. Monster Hunter Wii Points Card.jpg|Special Monster Hunter Tri version of a Nintendo Point card, worth 500 points. Nintendo 3DS Mario and Zelda Cards.jpg|Japanese Nintendo 3DS Prepaid Cards with Mario (1000 Yen) and Zelda (2000 Yen) designs. External Links Nintendo of America Official 3DS Website Category:Consoles released by Nintendo